CANINE AURAL HEMATOMA SKIN

Occasionally, medical management through draining and bandages may be attempted, however, in most cases the haematoma recurs. These sutures are left in place for 2 weeks and your dog will be prescribed antibiotics and need to wear an Elizabethan collar to prevent scratching for this entire time.

CANINE AURAL HEMATOMA SKIN

We use a punch biopsy technique to drain blood from the ear and then suture in a diamond pattern to ensure the skin adheres back down onto the cartilage to limit recurrence. The best treatment is surgical correction of the affected ear as well as treatment of any underlying ear problems. Our veterinarians need to examine your pet’s skin and ears, and possibly do ear swabs to determine the cause. Otitis externa (ear infection), ear mites, fleas, biting flies and allergies are the most common causes of itchy ears. Unless obvious trauma to the head was seen (for example dogs mouthing and biting during play), the aural haematoma is a symptom of a dog that has an itchy ear. Other signs might be odour from the ear, head shaking or pawing at the ear. Ear hematomas (pictured below) occur much more commonly in dogs than in cats they are generally the result of trauma to the ear flap, either from an injury or from the. This is especially noticeable in dogs with erect ears as the ear flap will often hang down. While a hematoma is any abnormal blood filled space, an aural hematoma is a collection of blood under the skin of the ear flap (sometimes called the pinna) of a dog (or cat).

Owners will often notice a fluid-filled swelling of the ear flap.

Trauma to the head, scratching at the ear and shaking the head are the most common reasons for blood vessels to rupture leading to the haematoma. An aural hematoma is a pool of blood that collects between the skin and the cartilage of a pet’s ear flap…essentially a big blood blister.

Canine aural hematoma